Taipei, Aug 3 (CNA) Registration for the upcoming annual awards ceremony for excellence in traditional arts and music in Taiwan has increased this year after a review of the submission rules, organizers said on Tuesday.
A total of 882 nominations were received for the 32nd Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music, an increase of 239 from last year, said Annie Chen (鳿 å®), director of the National Center for Traditional Arts. .
The center is the administrative arm of the Taiwan Traditional Theater Center, where the ceremony will take place on October 9.
The increase was most notable in the music production category, which received 702 admissions compared to just 481 last year, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) said in a statement.
It is believed that the increase in submissions is due to the fact that the format that artists can submit their works has been extended to include digital inputs, such as media saved to USB drives, instead of accepting only CDs and DVDs, Chen said.
âWe are in the digital age, and nowadays there are many ways to publish a work. In the past, we only accepted CDs and DVDs, but when digital is the main trend, we would lose a lot of works, âChen mentioned.
Likewise, the awards have also accepted traditional records so that artists can use older media to submit their works, Chen added.
The drop in entries to just 643 entries last year, where awards normally number between 800 and 1,000 entries, led to an internal review of the reasons for the decline, which then resulted in broader format rules for entries, Chen said.
âReceiving an increased number of submissions during the pandemic compared to last year is good news,â Chen said.
The Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music, which honor individual artists, groups and works of art who have contributed to Taiwan’s diverse, creative and rich cultural heritage, reflect the aesthetics of our daily life, according to the MOC.
âThe beauty of traditional arts can enhance the aesthetics of everyday life and, in turn, enhance the overall beauty of Taiwan,â said Lee Lien-chuan, MOC administrative vice minister (æé£ æ¬).
Nominees this year include the album “YIN. An Unlimited Passage” by Taipei Chamber Singers, which was founded in 1992 and won 15 international awards to become one of Asia’s top vocal groups.
Their album topped the bunch this year with six nominations in the categories of Best Artistic Music Album, Best Album Producer, Best Recording, Best Performance, Best Composition, and Best Lyrics.
Meanwhile, the play âMatinee In The Rainâ, a joint production of Chun Mei Taiwanese Opera Troupe and Golden Bough Theater; âThe Storyteller and Her Dreamâ by the Taiwanese Opera Company Tang Mei Yun; and âWang Zao Junâ of the Taiwanese opera troupe Shintrun topped the nominations for traditional performing arts with six nominations each.
This year, Four Seas Records founder Liao Chien-yuan (å» ä¹¾å ) and Taiwanese opera performer Liao Chiung-chih (å» ç æ) will receive special awards for their contribution to traditional arts and music, according to the ministry. of the culture.
In 2014, the Golden Melody Awards for Traditional Arts and Music were separated from the Golden Melody Awards and have since been held under the auspices of the National Center for Traditional Arts.